Filipino priest on mission in Europe to halt fossil fuel financing

Edwin Gariguez, a Catholic priest from the Philippines, who is touring top European banks on environmental issues, is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, May 10, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Sims

FRANKFURT/MANILA (Reuters) - A Filipino priest is touring top European banks to demand they curtail ties with companies behind new fossil fuel projects in a region of his home country that is rich in fish and coral. But he is leaving his meetings with bankers feeling frustrated.

The priest, Edwin Gariguez, and the environmentalists accompanying him are just the latest activists from around the globe to make a case in person to banks that they should be bolder in cutting off financing for polluting industries.